Greece to Pay Up to 95% of Renovation Costs to Get Empty Apartments Back on the Rental Market

15:49 22/5/2026 - Πηγή: iEfimerida

Greece will open applications by early June for a €500 million grant program that will cover up to 95 percent of renovation costs for vacant apartments built before 1990, in exchange for owners placing the restored units on the long-term rental market for at least five years — the government's most direct intervention yet in a housing affordability crisis that has pushed rents to record levels.

Deputy Finance

Minister Nikos Papathanasis confirmed the program, called "Anakainizo" and financed through reallocated EU structural funds, will fund up to €300 per square meter for properties up to 120 square meters, capping individual grants at €36,000.

Standard owners qualify for 90 percent reimbursement; the 95 percent tier is reserved for disabled citizens, single-parent households, families with three or more children and adults aged 25 to 35.

Remote island and mountain properties also qualify for enhanced rates.

Owners must freeze initial lease rates for the first three years of the mandatory five-year rental commitment.

Up to 80 percent of funded works can cover general structural and aesthetic restoration — plumbing, electrical rewiring, flooring, kitchens and bathrooms — with only 20 percent reserved for energy upgrades such as insulation and solar heaters.

An automated eligibility sweep will run first, with formal applications opening in September.

The program targets Greece's large stock of long-term vacant housing — a structural factor that economists say has significantly worsened the country's rental shortage alongside the rapid expansion of short-term tourist letting platforms.

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Greece will open applications by early June for a €500 million grant program that will cover up to 95 percent of renovation costs for vacant apartments built before 1990, in exchange for owners placing the restored units on the long-term rental market for at least five years — the government's most direct intervention yet in a housing affordability crisis that has pushed rents to record levels.

Deputy Finance Minister Nikos Papathanasis confirmed the program, called "Anakainizo" and financed through reallocated EU structural funds, will fund up to €300 per square meter for properties up to 120 square meters, capping individual grants at €36,000.

Standard owners qualify for 90 percent reimbursement; the 95 percent tier is reserved for disabled citizens, single-parent households, families with three or more children and adults aged 25 to 35.

Remote island and mountain properties also qualify for enhanced rates.

Owners must freeze initial lease rates for the first three years of the mandatory five-year rental commitment.

Up to 80 percent of funded works can cover general structural and aesthetic restoration — plumbing, electrical rewiring, flooring, kitchens and bathrooms — with only 20 percent reserved for energy upgrades such as insulation and solar heaters.

An automated eligibility sweep will run first, with formal applications opening in September.

The program targets Greece's large stock of long-term vacant housing — a structural factor that economists say has significantly worsened the country's rental shortage alongside the rapid expansion of short-term tourist letting platforms.

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Τυχαία Θέματα
εγερθητι, εδρανα, εσηαπε, exodus
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Greece, Pay Up, Renovation Costs,Get Empty Apartments Back, Rental Market